General
Kwara Equips Civil Service With Computers, Others
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Some computers, printers and other office tools were distributed to various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in the Kwara State civil service on Friday by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.
Mr AbdulRazaq said he decided to equip the civil service with modern tools in order to make the workers more efficient for the benefit of the state.
According to him, his administration discovered that most of the offices either did not have these items or the ones they had were not working.
He said the civil service is a good system with good people which only requires adequate tools to deliver on its mandate, adding that, “I hope this will help you in your productivity.”
The Governor also said he expects “these innovation tools to make work easier for you,” noting that going through ministries, “I saw that these equipment were lacking. I saw archaic equipment in offices, mostly not working, with civil servants going to business centres to type and print letters. This will be a thing of the past.”
“I am not saying that these equipment will solve all your problems today, but just like a journey of a thousand miles, which starts with a step, I believe this is a first step and we will continue to build on this,” he noted.
The Governor later witnessed the distribution of the tools which included 100 HP branded desktop computers; 100 HP Monitors (18.5’); 100 HP printers; 100 UPS; 50 Sharp photocopiers (AR602); and 20 HP laptop computers.
Kwara State Head of Service, Ms Susan Modupe Oluwole, commended the Governor for rewriting the story of the civil service, saying, “I don’t know for long we have been working without tools.
“If we get paid and there are no tools to work with, it makes no difference. So, this is a new era and we are excited that we are now getting tools to work with.”
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Works, Transport and Housing, Mr Garba Manjo, hailed Mr AbdulRazaq for stabilising the civil service, saying the Governor’s decision to not hurriedly scatter workers around after he was sworn in testifies to his maturity and respect for institutions.
“Your Excellency, we thank you for the good work you have been doing for the service for past seven months. We thank you for the completion of the state secretariat. We thank you for the prompt payment of salaries. We thank you for the timely release of operational grants to MDAs,” Mr Manjo said.
“We thank you for the stability you have brought into the service. In the past, we were used to changing all officers across all levels with the change in government but you chose to stabilise the service and this surprised everybody. We also thank you for ending the era of no cash backing.
“We thank you for the distribution of these computer sets which will enhance our operational efficiency. You have restored the state to the era of ‘administocracy’ which we witnessed last in the 1970s and 1980s,” he added.
The brief event was attended by top government functionaries and senior civil servants, especially representatives of the various MDAs who received the tools on behalf of their offices.
By Dipo Olowookere
A $15 million debt facility has been obtained by Watt Renewable Corporation from the AfriGreen Debt Impact Fund to finance hybrid solar power plants to be built and operated by the former, especially in Nigeria.
WATT intends to use the projects to serve commercial and industrial clients in Nigeria, particularly in the telecommunication and financial services sectors.
By integrating solar hybrid solutions, the firm aims to significantly reduce diesel consumption and CO2 emissions, enabling its clients to achieve substantial energy cost savings while promoting environmental sustainability.
As a pioneer in renewable energy solutions, WATT continues to drive innovation in Nigeria’s energy sector.
The company’s robust roll-out plan includes deploying hundreds of hybrid solar power sites nationwide to meet the growing energy demands of commercial & industrial clients.
This strategic expansion aligns with WATT’s vision to revolutionize energy access across Africa, enabling sustainable development and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The funds from AfriGreen provide the critical capital needed to accelerate WATT’s ambitious projects, strengthening its market position and empowering businesses with reliable and affordable energy solutions.
Business Post gathered that to mitigate the currency risk for WATT in the event of devaluation of the Nigerian Naira, AfriGreen is offering a local currency facility that matches the payment structure of the power purchase agreements.
“We are thrilled to partner with AFRIGREEN on this transformative journey to expand reliable and sustainable energy solutions across Africa.
“With this support, it enables us to accelerate our shared mission of providing hybrid solar power to businesses, reducing carbon emissions, and supporting economic growth while enhancing energy security for our clients,” the Managing Director of WATT, Mr Oluwole Eweje, said.
“We are delighted to support WATT in rolling out hundreds of hybrid sites across the country.
“This represents another key transaction for AFRIGREEN in Nigeria. The combination of high energy prices, good solar irradiation, and strong demand from industrial and commercial energy users makes this market particularly attractive for companies like WATT.
“By leveraging these favourable market conditions alongside WATT’s exceptional operational performance and a well-structured financing solution, we are setting the stage for a strong and lasting business partnership,” the Managing Director of AfriGreen, Mr Alexandre Gilles, stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has denied issuing a directive that gas supply to power generating companies (GenCos) be halted.
In a statement on Wednesday, the authority also denied instructing wholesale gas suppliers to stop further supply of gas to companies due to failure in payment obligations.
The NMDPRA described reports stating that it has directed the stoppage of gas supply to GenCos over N2 trillion debt as “false and completely unfounded”.
“It has absolutely no bearing on the information shared at a recent stakeholders’ engagement held in Lagos between the Authority, the OPTS, IPPG and other stakeholders in the oil and gas industry,” the NMDPRA said.
“The purpose of the engagement was to sensitise stakeholders on the requirements, opportunities and benefits associated with the implementation of the wholesale supply license as provided by sections 142 and 197 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
“It was a follow-up to an earlier stakeholder engagement held at the NMDPRA corporate headquarters in Abuja on November 27, 2024.
“The Authority wishes to reassure all our stakeholders and indeed the general public that at no time was the false statement made at that event and anywhere else, and are advised to completely disregard the publication as every effort is being made to ensure that the supply and distribution of natural gas and petroleum products to end users is seamless and unabated as we head into the festive season and indeed all through the coming year 2025.”
Recall that Nigeria’s national grid experienced another collapse on Wednesday, the 11th time in 2024 as Gencos couldn’t generate enough power, compounding issues facing the Nigerian power sector.
This was the first time in over a month as the last time the nation witnessed a nationwide shutdown in electricity supply was on November 7, 2024.
Before then, the country was experiencing an incessant collapse of the grid, which prompted the federal government to set up a team to address the issue.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Nigeria is currently experience a cut in power supply after the national grid collapsed for the 11th time in 2024.
This is the first time in over a month as the last time the nation witnessed a nationwide shut down in electricity supply was on November 7, 2024.
Before then, the country was experiencing an incessant collapse of the grid, which prompted the federal government to set up a team to address the issue.
However, just when Nigerians were thinking they will not witnessed another national grid collapse in the year, it issue reared its ugly head again.
On Wednesday afternoon, most of the energy distribution companies suffered power outage, prompting them to inform their customers of the situation.
One of the DisCos, Ikeja Electric Plc, in a message to electricity consumers under its franchise area, said, “Please be informed that we experienced a system outage today, December 11, 2024, at about 13:32 hours affecting supply within our network.
“Restoration of supply is ongoing in collaboration with our critical stakeholders. Kindly bear with us.”
Recall that on Tuesday, in a report, Google listed national grid as one of the top trending searches by Nigerians this year.
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